Broken Ties
by zorradesombra
Summary: DG cannot handle the amount of guilt she feels over letting the witch out. She leaves the OZ, but Az is unwilling to let her stay hidden. Who will help AZ look for her sister? NOT SLASH
1. Reflections

Chapter 1: Reflections

**A/N: This is my first Tin Man fanfic. It just rattled around in my head until I started writing it out. As much as I would love DG's future to be light and full of love, I just don't see that in her character. No worries though, happier times are in store for her. It will be a while though.**

**I do not own Tin Man, I just play with the characters.**

**DG**

Midnight passes. An annual has passed since the eclipse. I sigh and gaze at the stars through my window. It's been an entire year. Az has been gaining popularity as word spreads about her possession and its end. That's good. I want her to be happy. I want her to move on with her life. She deserves a chance to get past my mistake.

Glitch has been reunited with his brain. Most people call him Ambrose these days, but I am one of the few hold-outs. He doesn't really mind answering to Glitch, even if he playfully grumbles about it. Once more his inventions are revolutionizing the OZ. He is also a valued royal advisor again, much to everyone's delight. There is still the occasional misfire. I would miss them if they were all the way gone and I think he would too. If the looks he and Az have been sharing are any indication, there is a little mutual appreciation happening. I hope they can manage to get to couple-hood soon. He is a lord, after all, so they are compatible that way.

Not long after the eclipse, Raw and Kalm headed out in search of their people. Now there is a slowly building community. It is not an easy task those two have. The witch's desire to use the empaths until they dropped dead caused a rightful exodus from their previous communities. Those that are left, are very spread out and well hidden. The pair plans to return to the palace after the new settlement has gained a little stability. I'm kind of thankful that they are out and about. I feel guilty enough about my mistake without them feeling it too.

The Cain men are currently working on the OZ's military. A lot of rebels have joined up and that assimilation is tricky at best. Jeb headed out straightaway to do that. Wyatt stayed behind and built up the royal guard. Jeb and I really hit it off as friends, so we keep in pretty close contact. Wyatt finished up with the guard and simply left without saying goodbye or anything. I thought we had become friends at least, but I don't ever hear from him. Even when he was here, our contact was minimal. Jeb seems to think that does not mean what I think it means. I don't know what to think anymore.

Mom is back on the throne. Dad is back in the palace. It took some getting used to, calling them mom and dad. But not calling them that was making a statement that hurt them and I was not willing to do that. They are together once more and seem happy. They keep trying to change me into what they think I need to be. I know that they mean well, but I grew up in a different world. The fact that I keep falling short of their expectations only serves to deepen my general guilt over everything. They had to be apart for so long because of me. They had to survive so much because of me. And now, I can't even dress the way that I should. I know this because recently all of my pants have mysteriously vanished from my wardrobe.

Tutor is openly hostile. He thinks that I don't take my lessons seriously. Well, who can take something seriously all day, every day? Anyway, while I was researching for one of his assignments, I found a sifting spell. It allows me to sift some of my magic to the OZ to help it heal. The witch was released because of me. This is the least I can do to try and make amends. I can't devote as much magic as what he would like to my studies because it is not there. I won't tell him or anyone really, that. It is better that he thinks I am just slacking off. That is what he is reporting to my parents.

I've lost my appetite. I try to eat, really I do. But the thought that the food before me could have gone to someone who suffered under the witch makes my stomach churn. I've lost weight. My cheeks are a little hollowed out. I did not think it was noticeable until I started getting looks from my family. Now they shove food at me whenever they can. I eat some, but I can't keep normal amounts down. Az is suspicious of my behavior, I think. She watched my lessons today instead of whatever political things she normally takes care of.

Mom has started talking about suitors. That means that Az and I will be getting visitors whether they are welcomed or not. An arranged marriage, if she kidding? She simply cannot be serious, I can't be a good princess…there is no way that I would make a good royal wife. That would just add to the expectations that I cannot live up to.

I'm drowning in guilt, but no one notices. I'm suffocating from everyone's expectations, and not one of them sees. I'm all alone, and they don't care. The OZ would have been so much better off without my interference. It still would. I stare at the moon, looking for some guidance and getting nothing. It's all so much, too much really. I miss who I was before I knew about the OZ. I'm tired of disappointing everyone. I'm tired of seeing the awful things I am responsible for. Surely the OZ is just as tired of me. Suddenly the answer is right in front of me. How many times have I thought that the OZ would be better without me in it? It doesn't have to have me in it.

I sit at my desk and pen a letter to everyone that I will be leaving behind. Someone will find it tomorrow sometime. What will they all feel? Will mom and dad be relieved that they only have the good princess to worry about now? Will Raw and Kalm be grateful to no longer have to deal with my overpowering guilt? Will Jeb miss my letters? Will Wyatt even care? What about Az? Glitch? I write for all of them. With a sigh, I fold the paper and stuff it into an envelope. I seal it shut with my own wax seal. The letter ends up on my pillow.

The walk to the farthest tower is surprisingly short. I only have to be careful a couple of times in order to avoid the guards and their scrutiny. They won't miss me at all. To them, I am just a burden with my impulsive nature. I open the door at the top of the stairs and the fresh air hits me. The door closes quietly behind me. With one last glance around, I conjure the travel storm and leap in. Kansas here I come.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Review if you please and let me know what you think. Feel free to be vocal.**


	2. Starts with a Dream

Chapter 2: Starts with a Dream

**A/N: I hope that you are all enjoying this so far. Well, enjoying it as much as you can with the sad start point anyway. DG got her say in the first chapter, but she will not be the POV for several chapters at least. That is, unless you want to hear from her intermittently. Be sure to let me know though.**

**Sebastian-Flight - Yeah, the POV will jump around. Not so much for this chapter, but other chapters will have more than one POV usually. The characters just seem to have so much to say in my head...Anyway, thanks so much for reviewing!**

**KLCtheBookWorm - When I watch the series, I always want to make the sister bond important in my fanfic. I just think that since they were so close when they were young that they would try and rekindle that. Also, thanks so much for the review!**

**A thought, I will try to post new chapters on a weekly-ish basis. I usually land on Thursday or Friday. However, one of my readers has asked for an early posting this week. A day is still early. I can swing it sometimes, as I like to have chapters done long before they have to be posted. But sometimes writer's block or real life happen.**

**I do not own Tin Man, I just play with the characters.**

**AZ**

Winds swirl around me. There is a sudden drop. I see a pile of rubble that I know used to be a comfortable home. My hand reaches out in front of me, except it is not my hand. How confusing. Something flies out of the mess and into my hand. It seems to be intact. What is a cell phone and why would I know anything about it? There is a piece of a shattered mirror on the ground. In it, I catch a glimpse of myself. It's not me. It's the shadow that DG has become. Our eyes meet…

I jerk awake, gasping for air. Something has happened. I can feel it. Grabbing a robe I run to DG's room. The closed door stops me. She's not there. I know this deep down. The wood taunts me a moment before I throw the door open.

"DG?" I ask the empty room.

There is no answer. I did not expect there to be, really. Everything seems to be in its place. Art supplies spill from a wardrobe and her desk. The bed is made. She didn't sleep here. There's an envelope on her pillow. My heart sinks at the sight. I don't have to read it to know. My little sister is gone. Clutching the envelope to my chest, I sink to my knees. Tears stream down my face. All I feel is bone-breaking heartache. My despair seems to leave almost visible waves in the air. My magic is projecting my grief, but hopefully not my guilt. I know that my parents will be on the way here ay moment.

DG could have come to me. She was having problems and trying to take care of them herself. Who's surprised? Not me, that's for sure. If she didn't think she would get a sympathetic ear here at the palace, did she try to talk to someone else? Maybe one of her friends tried to help her. How long has it been since she spent any time with one of them? I just can't recall. Now that I think about it, she has been alone more and more often. Also, she has been spending more time in the library outside of magic lessons. Does Tutor know what is going on? I will have to ask him about it…

The gasp behind me barely registers. My mother is here, I don't even have to look. My father has to be beside her. A hand grips my shoulder. The envelope won't move from where I am still holding it. Mother knows that I have it somehow. She probably felt my distress through my magic. Gently, my hands are pried apart. I don't want to know what that letter contains. I have to know, but I don't know if I can handle it. I failed my sister. That failure is probably stated outright on that very paper. I should have seen this coming. I should have stopped DG from leaving.

"Dear everyone. I can't be what you all expect me to be. It's abundantly clear that I am not a proper princess of the OZ. I can't bear to disappoint any of you further. My failure is overwhelming. The OZ would have been better off if I had never existed. The witch would still be imprisoned. Az would have had her childhood. Mother and father would never have been apart. Wyatt and Jeb's family would still be whole. Glitch would have remained Ambrose. Raw's people would be safe. The list is endless.

Since I don't know a spell to erase my being born, I am doing the closest thing I can to it. I summoned a travel storm and slipped through to the other side. This decision was not made lightly. Great thought went into it over a long time. I hope you can find it in yourselves to understand. I know that forgiveness is not an option, so I won't even ask. Know that I will never be able to forgive myself.

Please do not try to follow me, I don't want to be found.

I love and will miss you all. DG." Mother reads the letter in an oddly calm voice. It's more like there is no emotion, really.

Somehow I made my way to DG's bed during the reading. Holding her pillow, I curl around it in the very middle of the mattress.

"We failed her," father whispers.

"She never came to anyone about how she felt," mother sobs. It seems she has found her feelings.

"Why would she have? We were all so focused on the kind of princess that she would have been had she grown up here. DG _didn't_ grow up here. She didn't even have any evidence that we like her for the woman that she is." I can't hold back my contempt of all of us.

We were all so blind to DG. There were signs. She was thin in an unhealthy way. I'm fairly certain that she did not sleep well. The exuberance that carried her through the journey to save me faded. It was gradual, but someone should have noticed. _I_ should have seen what was happening. DG thought we didn't care. That hurts a lot, if I am being truthful, because I know what that feels like. All she had to do was reach out, but that reaching is also the hardest and most scary part.

"What should we do?" Mother ignores my outburst. I know she wants to have a plan.

What can we do? DG doesn't want to be followed or found. I don't think that I can accept that. I know that I don't want to live without knowing she is safe and happy. She's my sister. After thinking about it, I decide what I'm going to do. I know that my parents will fight me on it, but I will not back down. This is too important.

"I'm going after her," I announce as I sit up on the bed.

**A/N: I'm pondering spreading the POV to include other characters, but Az seems a good central point. Thoughts? Leanings? Thanks for reading! Review if you please.**


	3. Determination

**A/N: There is some POV jumping in this chapter. Raw may seem a little OOC, but just because he doesn't speak in complete sentences, does not mean he doesn't think in them. Anway, hope you enjoy!**

**KLCtheBookWorm- Az will have some growing pains and relapses into the dramatic. But have no fear, I am a firm believer that she and DG have a lot of character traits in common and wearing big girl panties is for sure one of them. As for shipping, I can't say anything about it just yet. Sorry. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Kidda- Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I have another couple of chapters done and there is no end in sight just yet.**

**I do not own Tin Man, I just play with the characters.**

**AZ**

There is an explosion of noise. We won't lose you too. Of course _someone_ is going to look for her, but it doesn't have to be you. We need a plan. Have you even thought this all the way through? I tune them all out after that one. I do need a plan, though. At least I know where she slipped over to, so I have a starting point. My dream showed me exactly where she exited the travel storm at. She was in Kansas, at what was left of her home there. But where would she go after that? On that, I have no idea. Has she ever mentioned a specific place that she liked or visited often?

It strikes me that I don't know much about her life on the other side. Did I ever ask? I don't think that I did. That hurts to realize. Why didn't I have her tell me everything? I was…am…interested. Learning to rule the right way and escaping the witch's memory consumed me. Fresh guilt washes over me. Maybe her friends know something. I really need to talk to them. They will want to help find my sister. In fact, they will probably insist on coming along. Glitch is easy enough to find. I know where his rooms are, for Ozma's sake. Raw will prove to be more difficult. He's not hiding, but the nature his current project makes him very mobile. The Cain men can be readily available. All I have to do is send a dispatch asking them to return. If I include any of the specifics, they will journey as fast as they can to be here. I can only hope that we are not too late.

I leave the room while my parents are still trying to reason with me. They seem stunned. Good. They cannot stop me and the sooner they realize it, the easier it will be. DG needed me and I failed her. I will not fail her again. My feet carry me to another door that is not mine. My parents catch up to me there. Mother knocks. I take that as her saying she knows I will not be deterred. There is some shuffling noises inside before the door slowly swings open.

"My Queen?" Glitch seems unsure of the sight before him. Even rumpled, he is handsome.

**Glitch**

Knocking pulls me from my sleep. I stumble on the way to my door. The entire royal family is standing in the hallway, looking at me. Wait. It's not the entire royal family as DG is not here.

"My Queen?" I have to ask to be sure.

"Something terrible has happened." Az is taking control of the conversation. Interesting.

The Queen hands me a piece of paper. As I read, my heart sinks. DG is gone. She never said anything to me. She has to be found. No one should live with the feelings she has. Someone Needs to make her see the truth.

"I'm going to find her," Az informs me.

"Please talk some sense into her. She should not go to the other side herself," the Queen huffs.

"The Queen is right. You should not risk yourself. I will go and find DG. You can count on me," I reply, trying to reassure the beautiful princess before me.

"I am going, but you can come too." No room for argument with that tone.

The conversation flows in a circular direction for quite a while. Az is determined to go and find DG personally. The Queen and Consort are equally insistent that she stay in the OZ while others search. Eventually we all agree to make a plan by consulting all of DG's friends in the OZ. We need to see is anyone can offer a direction to look for her. More than likely it will take piecing together information from all of us. A dispatch is written, by me, and sent out before I realize that I forgot to use my seal or even sign it. One copy was sent to the Cain men and one was sent to Raw. I know they will all arrive as quickly as possible when they learn of DG's disappearance and the circumstances surrounding it.

**RAW**

I've dreamed the same dream over and over for about a week now. DG is in a travel storm. She doesn't look healthy, not like she was the last time I actually laid eyes on her. It's just my worry. Her letters stopped coming two weeks ago. Kalm and I talk about my dream, which wole me again this morning. It is decided that we should check on her, if only to make me feel better.

A messenger finds us before we are finished cleaning up our camp site. We both know immediately that something is very wrong. Quickly, I read the message. My heart breaks. Kalm's heart breaks with mine. With a speed that I did not know we possessed, we are ready to head back to the palace…planning to rest as little as possible on the journey. What will Cain do when he finds out?

**JEB**

The dispatch from the palace shakes in my hand as I open the envelope. Dad is running the perimeter. I feel a little bad for reading the letter before he gets here, but DG hasn't written me for a couple of weeks and I secretly hope that she sent this. She and dad haven't had any communication since we left the palace. It's killing him to not write her, yet he still doesn't. The letter starts with our given names and it is not in DG's hand. Weird.

_Wyatt and Jeb,_

_DG has left the palace under distressing circumstances. Please report back to further discuss the matter._

I don't know what worries me more. That there is no seal or there is no signature. The scrawl is hurried. Actually, it looks like Glitch wrote it. Then the subject hits me like a punch to the gut. There are so many questions. Did she leave on her own? Did she leave willingly? Why is she gone? What can I do to help? Whatever it is, I know that I will do it. I will search for her, of course. She is one of my closest friends. Also, I am fairly certain that my father is in love with DG and just has no idea what to do about it. Ozma, my dad…how will he take the news?

I look up as the door opens with a bang. Guess I won't have to wonder for very long.

**WYATT**

The look on my son's face says a lot. It says that something has happened and I am not going to react well to it. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out before he closes it again. I see the paper in his hands and grab it. There is no attempt to stop me.

What. The. Hell. This has to be Glitch's attempt at a joke…or he is trying to push me and DG together again. He loves to play matchmaker. Jeb's expression makes me think that neither is what is happening. No seal or signature means that it was sent in a hurry. Damn. The room is spinning. Sinking into a chair, I rest my head in my hands. This cannot be happening. DG cannot be gone.

**A/N: Well? Who's POV did you like best? Thanks for reading! Review if you please.**


	4. A Reunion

**A/N: Things are a little slower in this chapter, but action will be coming soon. Promise! To be honest, I like Jeb's POV. I think he will show up the second most, after AZ of course. On an unrelated note, there will be shipping in this fanfic. Consider yourselves warned. Also, I am struggling a bit with the next chapter. Fingers crossed that it works out in time for next Thursday. Otherwise the next update will be late.**

**I do not own Tin Man, I just play with the characters.**

**JEB**

My father has lost his mind. We've been riding hard towards the palace, barely stopping to water our horses or even to pee. Not that I'm any better, because I'm not. But we came across fresh camp that clearly belonged to Raw and Kalm. Dad does not even want to bother with them as he says they will only slow us down. I know that we can catch up with them easily enough and I reminded dad that we would have to wait for them to get there to anyway. Also, they will be really helpful with the whole 'track DG down' thing. When I kept pointing out the good aspects of finding and traveling with them, my dad finally agreed. It was a very reluctant agreement. I'm pretty sure that he only said okay to shut me up. Results are results, however, and I will take what I can get. Please, oh please, let us find Raw and Kalm before I injure my own father.

**WYATT**

I love DG. It can't be too late to tell her, to show her how special she is just by being herself. Why didn't I take the time before? Why didn't I write her? Why didn't I talk to her? Because she's a princess and I am a bitter old man? I didn't see that she was broken too. I didn't realize that she needed someone…me…to hold her and never let go. This guilt continues to get worse and I know that I deserve it. I have to find her. Nothing is going to get in my way.

"There they are." Jeb interrupts my internal monologue. Does he sound relieved?

Our pace is much slower, but both Raw and Kalm are going much faster that I have seen either of them go. The problem is the cart that they are riding in. Raw looks awful. When was the last time he really slept? Kalm is jittery. They know something that we don't. A little gentle prodding reveals that Raw has been having the same dream featuring the younger princess every night for weeks. That is not a good sign.

Jeb keeps close to me. He is watching me very carefully. Under different circumstances I would tease him about treating me like an old man, which I am not. That damned suite slowed my aging down to a crawl. He may think that I am unstable. Why would he think that, though? I never told anyone how I felt about DG. In fact, I even distanced myself from her after the witch incident like the idiot that I am. Does he suspect? Probably, kid's smart like his mother. He's also a smartass. No idea where that came from. Maybe my feelings were just obvious? Nah.

**AZ**

Mother is pacing outside the door to my rooms. She thinks that I am sulking. While I have locked myself in my suite, I'm not sulking. Instead I have been packing and repacking. What will I even need? I'm only taking one bag because the trip will be a short one…I hope.

There is sudden, frantic knocking. Mother is trying a new tactic, it seems. In response, I ignore it. My bag is finally ready. All that is left is to wait for the others to arrive. The knocking just keeps going. Why won't she just take the hint already?

"Princess! They are here!" Glitch's voice is the one on the other side of the door.

I rush to leave my room. Poor guy barely gets out of my way in time. I'm barreling towards DG's favorite conference room. I know that they will be in there despite the fact that we never set a meeting place.

"Princess!" Glitch calls as he attempts to keep up with me.

Slowing down is not an option, sorry Glitch. I know that I am behaving in a very unladylike manner. Rushing around is highly frowned upon for princesses. Mother would be horrified if she knew. That thought causes a small smile.

"Azkadellia!" Glitch is gaining on me like I knew he would.

He somehow manages to overtake me and opens the door. I don't even have to break pace. The sight inside the room stops me cold, however. Kalm is reassuring Raw with a gentle grasp on his forearm. Raw looks like he hasn't slept in weeks. Jeb is on edge. He keeps shooting nervous glances at his father. Wyatt looks…so broken. Sympathy flows through my veins. I do not know the man well. But I know him enough to know that showing that sympathy will be unwelcome.

"What happened?" Jeb breaks the quiet.

"Where DG?" Raw echoes.

Looking at them all makes me realize that I have no idea how to tell them of my failure as an older sister. For all my bravado and preparations, I just don't have the heart to read the letter out loud. The truth is awful. Why did I think that I was ready for this reunion? Glitch pulls out a chair for me. My parents make their entrance and sit together at the head of the table.

"DG has left the OZ." Mother sounds lost.

"Where did she go?" Jeb is once again the first to speak.

"Why did she leave?" Wyatt's voice is gravelly, like he hasn't used it in days. Maybe he hasn't.

**JEB**

The Queen and Consort share a look. Glitch gently rubs a spot between elder princess's shoulders. She bites her lower lip and wordlessly hands me a piece of paper. Immediately I recognize DG's scrawl. I try to read through it quickly, but I have to go back and go through it more carefully for the content to sink in.

"She left it on her pillow," Azkadellia explains, almost too quietly to be heard.

"What is it?" my dad barks.

I read the letter out loud to expedite matters. There is silence at the end. The princess's jaw is set. Her parents keep looking at her, but she refuses to even glance in their direction. She's going after her sister. The Queen may think that her elder daughter can be stopped, but I've seen that look on DG's face. Come hell or high water, Az is going to the other side of the rainbow to find her sister. Aside from the Queen and Consort, we are all going. You don't have to be any kind of psychic to see that.

**A/N: Okay, okay. I know that Wyatt is a bit angsty, but it just makes sense that way in my head. Well? Thanks for reading! Review if you please.**


	5. The Meeting

**A/N: I know I missed a week, but I had a rather severe argument with my muse. While this chapter is short, I wanted to post something this week too. The next chapter will be longer, promise. However, I make no promises about it going up next week. Sorry, but that really depends on whether my muse and I are on speaking terms.**

**KLCtheBookWorm: While the Other Side is probably not prepared for the group, they aren't so prepared for all of the Other Side either. That means that hijinks will ensue. You can't keep the entire story heavy.**

**AZ**

Oddly enough, the guilt isn't worse. Jeb read the letter and all I feel is more determined to find DG. Who can say where this shift came from, but I think I like it. Honestly, I tried to do the ideal princess thing. Mother was both pleased and proud. Where did that get us, exactly? DG felt alone and unwanted to the point where she felt her only option was to leave the OZ. No more, I mean it. She needed me and I missed it. I will not miss it again.

"I just feel so awful," Mother says.

"We can go back and forth about who feels guiltier or is more to blame for a very long time. We _should_ be focusing on a plan to find DG," I snap.

Wow. Where did that come from? I never react that way. Everyone is looking at me like I have grown a second head before them. Well…I'm not wrong about this…

"The Princess is right. We have already waited too long to start the search," Wyatt rumbles. Thank Ozma for his no nonsense attitude.

"Where would she go?" I can finally hope for an answer one of the questions that has been haunting me.

"She grew up in a place called Kansas, we all know that. I'm fairly certain that she never told me about spending any kind of extended time somewhere else," Jeb says.

"The night she left, I had a dream about it. I think I saw where she crossed over to. There was a pile of rubble that used to be a house," I inform them. I haven't even told my mother about the dream, but any kind of possibility is better than no possibility at all. With that in mind, I can ignore my father's look of shock and my mother's look of betrayal. She would have discouraged any discussion of my dream with the others. I couldn't take the chance that she would be successful in that aim.

"Now, dear…" Mother is going to try and dismiss it anyway. My eyes narrow and I open my mouth to tell her that I am not a child and should not be treated that way.

"Raw had dreams too," Raw calmly states before she can get any further or I can say anything either.

"We need to start there then. It sounds like her old home. The house was destroyed in the travel storm that brought her back to the OZ," Jeb declares.

"What are we waiting for, then?" Wyatt stands up.

"I'm already packed." I still refuse to look towards my parents.

"As am I," Glitch adds. I send him a grateful smile. We leave the room to go and get our bags.

**JEB**

Az hurries to get her things before the Queen or Consort can react. Yeah, they are trying to get her to stay here. Good luck with that.

"My daughter, while enthusiastic, will not be joining in the journey," the Queen decrees.

"That's not going to stop her," I respond.

"She's not going," she reiterates, icily.

"At this point, I don't think imprisonment would keep her here." I keep my tone even and maintain eye contact.

"She won't defy me." The Queen starts to sound a little desperate.

"You don't have magic and she does. She will use that to her advantage and sure as hell will defy," Dad chimes in.

"DG important to Azkadellia," Raw adds.

"I will not risk the possibility of losing Azkadellia as well." The Queen sneers at us all. Like that is going to intimidate anyone in this room. We all care more about DG than we would ever defer to her.

"If you don't get out of her way, it won't be just a possibility," Dad growls. He and the Queen stare each other down a moment before she looks away.

**A/N: Well? Thanks for reading. Review if you please. The big field trip starts next chapter, any thoughts on where DG might be since the house was destroyed?**


	6. Az Takes Control

**A/N: Okay, maybe this chapter is not as long as I hoped it would be. But I wanted to post before another week goes by. So, instead of a longer chapter, you get the one and only chance Lavender has to give her POV. Enjoy!**

**KLCtheBookWorm: The standoff wrote itself a little differently that I thought it would. I hope you like it.**

**I do not own Tin Man, I just play with the characters.**

**GLITCH**

The princess and I hurry to grab our bags. Due to the location of our respective rooms, we split up. Once my bag is in my hands, I make my way towards her rooms. She meets me partway and refuses to allow me to carry her things.

"Princess, it is no bother. I would like to carry your bag." I try in vain to change her mind.

"That's alright, I can manage," she responds. There's that smile again. It stops my attempts because it is just so…distracting.

We near the meeting room and the princess slows to a stop. I do the same. What else could I do? Taking a deep breath, I move a step closer to her. My hand reaches out to comfort her.

"I can't do it." Her eyes are sad when they turn to me. My heart clenches at the sight.

"I don't understand. What can't you do?" Without thinking, I pull her into a hug.

"I can't confront her. She's the ruler of the OZ. It wouldn't look right, especially after the whole witch incident. DG left and I'm going too. If the general public found out, she would be both devastated and humiliated." Az…the princess…tries to explain her meaning. She accepts my hug with no hesitation at all. What does that mean? Is she grateful because it is a gesture a friend would do? Does she want me to hug her as something other than a friend? Now I know that is my own wishful thinking. She is a princess and I am not worthy of her.

"I'm sure that the Queen would not do anything so rash." I try to soothe her, however I am fairly certain that the Queen would actually do something that rash.

"Thank you for trying to make me feel better, but I think we both know that she would," Az sighs.

"So, what are you planning to do?" I ask after a couple more moments enjoying the hug.

"I suppose the quickest way to get to DG is to just go around mother. I'm going to summon the travel storm. Can you get everyone else out there?" She looks up at me. The question is in her eyes.

"Of course, princess." I nod. It is not like I could deny her anything.

"Thank you." My princess whispers as she leans up and brushes a light kiss on my cheek before she freezes.

Blushing, Az…the princess…hurries down the hall. Obviously, she did not intend to do that. But does that mean that she did not want to? I cannot be certain. As much as I want to believe that she might want to kiss me, I fear that is only my continued wishful thinking. How long have I been standing here?

**AZ**

Stupid, stupid, foolish, stupid girl. Why did it have to happen today? Okay, so he was just so adorable and nice and comforting that I could not help myself. Just because I wanted to kiss him does not mean that he wants me to kiss him. Right? I am thankful that it was his cheek that I kissed and not his beautiful lips. Keep it together, Az. You need to focus on one thing at a time and you are currently focusing on DG.

"You can get around to that other thing afterwards," I mutter.

"Did you say something, princess?" One of the guards asks. Barely holding in a scream of surprise, I whirl to face him.

"Um, just talking to myself, I guess." Like a crazy person or am still possessed by the witch, I add silently. He nods and for a second time I hurry away blushing from someone. At least this time I didn't kiss anyone.

I did not even notice him there. Where is my head? Oh, right. Glitch. Stop. Focus on DG. Oh Ozma, I am falling apart. FALLING. APART. Taking a calming breath, I concentrate on the fact that my sister needs me. I feel a little better as I leave the palace.

**JEB**

Glitch enters the room with his bag. The princess is absent. Good call.

"Where is my daughter?" the Queen demands. She really commits to this whole 'I get final word in my daughters' lives' thing.

"The princess went ahead to conjure the travel storm." That was a great decision for the princess.

"You cannot be serious," the Queen snarls.

"Perhaps it is best to say our goodbyes here. Bring back my daughters," the consort says. His wife glares at him.

"We will," everyone responds at the same time as we hastily exit the room before the Queen can say anything else.

**LAVENDER**

"What was _that_?" I demand of my husband.

"My love, we have been through this. Az has every right to go after DG and she is more than old enough, and responsible enough, to make her own decision on the matter." He eyes me warily. We have been having this argument since DG left.

"I have lost one daughter. How can you expect me to risk the other?" I purse my lips.

"Wyatt is right. If you push her, Az will be lost to us again. Only this time, it will be of her own choosing." He shakes his head.

"How can you say such a thing?" My tone is accusing, but I know that he knows me well enough to read the sadness that thought fills me with.

"We pushed DG. We tried to force her into a role that suffocated her. I know that we wish we had those years with our girls, but we need to accept the fact that we didn't. They are adults and are their own people. Pushing will only cause heartache." My husband pulls me into a comforting hug.

I know he is right, but I can't stop myself. Every time I look at Az and DG, all I see is them as they were. Before the witch possessing Az. Before I sent DG to the Other Side. The years that I most looked forward to as a mother ended up never being mine to have at all. Losing more time with the girls is unacceptable to me. The very thought leaves a bad taste in my mouth. My love asks a lot of me by expecting me to let go of our daughters, even the little bit it would take to acknowledge how grown up they are.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Review if you please.**


	7. Kansas

**A/N: Okay, sorry for the delay, but I don't half-ass things. It's just the way that I am. Anyway, thoughts on Az and Glitch? I don't know why, but I love that pairing.**

**KLCtheBookworm: Thank you so much for reviewing as often as you do! I really appreciate it. Also, I have thought about therapy for Lavender. I just think she would fight it. We'll have to see how that unfolds when we get there.**

**I do not own Tin Man, I just play with the characters.**

**JEB**

Something is going on. The princess and Glitch won't make eye contact. Every time one of them looks at the other, they blush and look away right as the other looks at them. It just keeps going back and forth. DG might win the bet on those two getting together. Never in my life would I have been as glad as I will be to pay off that bet. Also, maybe that couple will finally prove to my dad that a princess can be with whoever she wants. Ozma knows why he would think that DG, of all princesses, would defer to tradition or even what her parents think on the matter. She will always go with her own instincts about matters of the heart. Truth be told, I am a little surprised that she let dad off the hook so easily. Maybe she does not think that he loves her. Well, I'm going to correct that if he does not. They both deserve to be happy. Mom would want dad to move on with his life.

The princess is working on the travel storm. It's basically a tornado that will suck us to the Other Side. Seriously. Who came up with that? I bet it was someone really sadistic. What was wrong with the way the ancients traveled? By bubble? That seems like a much better option in my opinion. By better, of course I mean resulting in significantly fewer travel injuries. You would think that people would care about that. But what do I know?

"First time?" Kalm asks while tugging on my sleeve.

"Yeah, this is my first travel storm experience," I answer.

"Oh." The kid sounds disappointed. He looks so nervous.

"I'm sure that everything will be fine." I hope that sounds as encouraging as I mean it to be. Guess it worked, he beams up at me.

I cast a glance at my father. He is glaring at my letters from DG. I knew he would be this way, but I offered them to him on the way to the palace. At least it gives him something to do…other than stare everyone down and generally make people uncomfortable that is. The letters only reference him in terms of our relationship. DG carefully avoided anything else. I think she took dad's lack of communication pretty hard. But she always asked how he and I were doing. She's just caring that way.

**WYATT**

When Jeb offered to let me read his letters from DG, I was not sure that I really wanted to know what was in them. He's kept them all, just like I'm sure she has. They are just alike that way. She wrote me a couple of times, but my lack of response made her stop trying. At least my son had the sense not to cut her off. I was so focused on our respective stations that I pushed her away. Well, no more. I love her. It's different this time around, but it is just as strong.

To her credit, DG does not say a single word against me. She has the right. Ozma knows Jeb would have been a sympathetic ear. But she only talks about me in terms of my relationship with my son. She doesn't even mention me when she discusses the progress of rebuilding the defense of the OZ. I'm not sure how to take that. What did she mean by doing things that way? I'll add that to the ever growing list of things I need to talk to her about when we find her…well, after I kiss her breathless and tell her that I love her…

**AZ**

The travel storm is ready. We all enter.

Twists…turns…jerking suddenly in another direction…Oh, Ozma…I may get sick…THUMP!

We land hard. I should have bent my knees to ease the impact. Travel storms are a horrible idea. When we get back, I am sequestering myself in the library until I find the bubble travel spell. I don't even care if it has been lost for centuries.

"We're here," Glitch announces as he helps me to stand.

"Now what?" Wyatt growls. That poor man has been in a foul mood since DG went missing…maybe longer.

"I have an idea," I respond, far more confidently than I feel about my idea. Here goes nothing, ready or not.

Concentrating, I extend my hands. Magic tingles through my body and crackles in the air. The others huddle defensively on instinct alone. A translucent and completely silent travel storm appears. We see the effects play out, but can't feel any of it. A shadow of DG exits the storm far more gracefully than any of us did. The shadow looks around. She holds her hand out and something flies to her grasp. There is the glance at the remains of a mirror. That part is exactly like my dream playing out for all to see.

The shadow fiddles with the small object…cell phone…whatever that is. She holds it up to her ear. I focus more energy to try and add sound to the scene.

"_Hey, it's me…yeah, I'm all in one piece. That's more than I can say for our house…No, they are out of town, fortunately…Can I crash with you for…I just need a couple of days…Yes, I am sure that is all I need…I don't want to put you out…Fine, fine…I won't set a time limit if it will make you happy…Where are you these days?...Texas? Why on Earth…you know what, we can discuss your sanity when I get there. I have a long ride ahead of me…Yeah, my bike made it without a scratch, miracle of miracles…See you when I get there."_

At least we got her side of the conversation. The shadow goes to a large out building that could be a barn or a shed. I'm not really familiar with farms. She rides off on some sort of two wheeled machine. That must be her 'bike' that she talked about.

"Well, we have a starting point now," Glitch comments.

"Neat trick." Kalm boisterously compliments me.

"Where or what is Texas?" Wyatt grumbles.

"We are going to need a map and a mode of transportation as I suspect the Other Side has a different currency than the OZ." Jeb takes the reigns.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Review if you please!**


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